Life Reset, May You Find Happiness (HIATUS)
by KaedeChild527
Summary: Nezumiiro Kurosawa is the seventh life in a line that always had theirs ended earlier that it was supposed to. As fate has it, a soul who's been a victim of misfortune won't have it easy in any life, lucky number or not. Her future balances on a trapeze wire that depends only on her choices to decide whether she need to reset like the ones before her or finally finding happiness.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, here's the prologue of my Naruto OC fic. I realize that the reincarnation thing is overdid but don't fix what isn't broke. Plus I put a spin on the dying thing by making it Nuclear Fallout War Remixed! Anyways, I hope this a good enough introduction. 3 KaedeChild527**

* * *

It was our nation's worst fear recognized.

It was finally happening.

We didn't know why it began, all we knew that it was happening.

The sirens wailed and filled my heart with unadulterated fear. I'd already started to run, but not towards shelter. I had to get to the daycare; I needed to get my brother.

I cursed our government, I cursed the world. There were probably more options other than this, but they were too lazy and pig-headed to even think of working this out diplomatically. Now it was all over, with just one press of the button. We were all going to be obliterated, just like Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We were going to die.

If there were any aliens out there, they were probably shaking their heads at our utter stupidity.

I don't blame them.

It was probably bound to happen, we believed in an eye for an eye for far too long. We never gave true peace a chance. Now we were paying for it.

"Matthew! Matthew!" I shouted, running into the daycare's doors. There were people running out and it was hard to fight through it all. "Ray!" I heard him shriek, his undeveloped voice cracking. He ran into me and snatched him up and followed the crowd. Apparently there was a bunker two miles away, I needed to get there in less than twenty minutes. A task that was probably impossible. Dear God, running club better not fucking fail me!

I positioned Matthew onto my back and bolted. Navigating amidst the chaos was frustrating, people running everywhere, almost running into me and cutting me off. I kept going, even though my lungs felt like they would burst from how much I was moving. I was brought out of my zombie run, from Matthew's screaming. I looked over my shoulder and saw the thin trail of exhaust heading towards us. It didn't deter me, because I was at the door of the bunker. A mass of people were shouting and trying to fight their way through a wall of armed soldiers who were busy closing the doors. I elbowed and pushed my way through, making my quickly through them. I was two rows away from the front and the door was open only two thirds of its original width.

There was no way I would make it, so I did something irrational and impulsive. I threw Matthew over the soldiers and into the bunker. The soldiers were caught off guard and ducked, allowing him easy access. I heard him land with a painful thwack and screamed at him to hurry underground. I hoped he listened, because the doors were now shut. And I was fucked along with everyone else out here.

It came fast and sweet, it was a shockwave unlike anything I`d imagined. It hurt so much too, from my innards rupturing to the mass of bodies crushing my bones. Then I felt heat, I realized I was on fire. "F…uck." Was all I could mutter before, closing my eyes for the inevitably last time.

* * *

I was in a dark place, floating in some sort of limbo. My body was limp and I couldn't move. Not that I wanted to of course, after that terrible pain I was in just a moment ago. I savoured the peacefulness of it all.

It didn't last long though.

Because soon I was being slammed with images and noise; images I didn't recognize but I felt they were familiar and mine. This is what my grandmother told me, my old lives, I was reincarnated. There must have been at least two thousand years' worth of my continued existence.

In my first life I was a medicine woman for my people soon to be slaughtered by a rival tribe.

In my second I was a thief living in Victorian England, I was trampled to death by a nobleman's horse.

In the third life I was a soldier in WWII who served in the Deippe Raid, captured, tortured, and disposed of like a used tissue.

In the fourth life I was a nameless murder victim of the famous Ted Bundy.

Finally I was an English teacher who served in Iraq and shortly committed suicide upon returning.

It seemed death was a reoccurring theme in all of my lives. That was really fucking depressing.

Soon after the onslaught of images a clock appeared and it began moving backwards rapidly. It began to emit a blinding light and I felt myself fade away.

* * *

**I added a bit more to the prologue because using another chapter for this is just wasteful. -KC527**


	2. Chapter 2

_'thinking.'_

**_'Inner.'_**

"talking."

_/dafuq if i know/_

* * *

_/May you find happiness in this life, child of many/_

All I could do was cry out; I don't even know why I was crying. It was the only thing to let anyone know I was here, I was alive. I then realized I was being held by a pair of delicate hands. I opened my eyes but I couldn't register anything at all. I was handed to another set of hands; these ones were stronger, yet still feminine.

I made an unintended noise of happiness, I felt attached to this person for some weird reason. Perhaps this was my new life's mother? Wait, did I live another before. Everything is so confusing and fractured; my memories are all jumbled and broken. How did I even have memories if this was my first time in this world? I finally resigned to think about this later. After all, if I was indeed a baby, I had months to do so.

The first few months of my life were so boring, it was the same routine every day; eat, sleep, poop, cry, burp, and sleep some more. I wonder how my mother could stand me. She had the patience of a yogi master. What even is a yogi master? Why did I think that?

"Nezumiiro~" My mother cooed. I snapped to attention, if anything I learned at all it was my name. She laughed and cradled me in her arms. "Nezumiiro, my precious monochrome…" She sighed, kissing my forehead. I gurgled happily and fell asleep.

Just as I started to crawl, I began to take notice to something weird. There was this warmth inside of me, like something locked just waiting to be opened. It confused me so badly; I frequently cried out in frustration, my mother did everything she could. She even resorted to taking me to be examined. The doctor determined it was just a phase and I would be quiet soon.

She was partially right.

It got better when I realized everyone else had it too, even the plants and animals had them! It was so interesting to touch something and feel this energy inside something living. I loved it, the feeling of life that surrounded me. It almost made up for the burning acidic smell, almost.

When I begin to walk, I was intrigued that each and every creature had a field of that stuff surrounding them. It had varying textures and temperatures. It was so wonderful; every time we went outside I would just sit there and have a constant look of awe. My mother was worried, but said nothing, leaving me to my own devices. For that I was grateful.

I rarely spoke, because I was focussed on the inner workings of myself and those around me. It was interesting, I could sense when someone or something was in pain or panic just by the way their energy spiked and deflated. One day I decided to ask my mom about and she nearly dropped her cup in surprise.

"You can feel your chakra?" She muttered eyes wide as plates. "I can feel a lot of things ch…chakar…charkra." I stated, looking at her. Her energy was tense and kept fluctuating; she was panicking. "Nezumiiro! I want you to forget about your chakra!" Oka-san shouted, standing up suddenly. "But-!" "No! I forbid you to use it! I forbid you to even think about it!" She shrieked, grabbing me roughly by the shoulders. "O-Oka-san, you're hurting me!" I cried, struggling to break free.

She stopped shaking me and pulled me into a tight, suffocating hug. "Oka-san doesn't want you to be hurt…" She sniffled, burying her face into my hair, "Oka-san just wants you to be safe…" We stayed silent and still, in that very same position for the longest time. I couldn't understand why my mother was so afraid of this thing called chakra.

The days following my mother's outburst were quiet, tense, and uncomfortable. My mother gave me absolutely no privacy and always asked me where I was going and what I was doing. It was infuriating. I spent most of my time away from home more than I ever did. She was grating on my nerves and I became more withdrawn from her. One day, I was at the park hiding in the trees when I heard a commotion coming from the playground.

"Go away Forehead Girl; we don't want you to play with us!"

"Get lost!"

I climbed down from my perch to investigate and found a girl with pink hair crying. A group of girls were shouting insults at her and pushing her away. I choked up; I didn't know what to do. If I helped they could turn on me too. It turns out I didn't have to, because a blonde girl came running to her defense. "Leave her alone you losers! Her forehead is just fine!"

I never saw them again.

"Nezumiiro, where are you going?" Oka-san asked, watching me carefully. "The park…" I answered quietly. "Well if any of the other kids start talking about chakra I want you to leave, okay." It sounded more like a command that a question. "Okay." I closed the door behind me and ran to my usual spot on the trees. I began to ponder what my mother said about the other kids. _'Maybe I can ask them about it…'_ I thought, looking at the other kids playing. _'But Oka-san said I can't…'_ I remembered quickly. **_'She said to leave if they start talking, not if you start talking about it!'_** I nearly fell out of my tree, who was that?

**_'It's me your Inner! I'm kind of like your conscience but more kick-ass!'_** It said. I could imagine it doing a little kick to highlight its point. _'Okay, but um…what if we get in trouble?'_ **_"No pain, no gain, kid.'_** It stated simply, leaving me to my own thoughts. I pondered for a while, trying to decide whether it was worth the risk or not. I made my decision and left my tree; taking a deep breath I went to the playground to search for someone to talk to.

I spotted a little girl, hanging in the background. She was hiding behind a pole, staring at a little boy alone on the swing set. "Um, excuse me." I mumbled. She squeaked and looked at me. Her face flushed crimson and she covered her face with her hands. I faltered; I didn't know what I should do now. Perhaps she was scared? "I-it's okay I won't hurt you, uh, my name's Nezumiiro, what's your?" I asked. Yes, that was a good conversation starter.

She peeked out from behind her fingers and stuttered something I couldn't hear. "I'm sorry I can't hear you." I apologized. She gulped and repeated it. "M-my n-n-name is H-Hinata." Wow, she has a bad stutter. "Nice to meet you Hinata, as I said before my name's Nezumiiro." I held out my hand for a handshake because I see adults do it all the time.

She grasped it with a shaky hand and I shook it twice. With a genuine smile I continued, "I actually wanted to ask you something, do you happen to know anything about chakra?" I asked. Her eyes widened slightly and I wondered what I did wrong. _'Maybe I should leave…'_ I was just about to scoot away and try someone else when she stuttered out her answer.

"Y-yes, i-it's what allows u-us to do ninjustu." She explained. She said it so naturally, like it was common knowledge. _'Wow, I kind of feel stupid now.'_ "Um, what's ninjustu?" She gasped a bit, which didn't help me feel any less stupid. "You d-don't know what ninjustu is?" She was bug eyed, it was almost funny, but I needed to learn. "Um, no, I don't." I sighed. She looked at me like I'd grown two heads.

"Well, it's kind of…" She began a really detailed explanation of chakra, chakra networks, and all types of Jutsus; ninjutsu, genjustu, and taijustu. But the most important thing she explained to me was shinobi. Shinobi were the people that used it to do missions, keep the village safe, and protect others. I thanked her before going home. I had a lot to think about.

"Nezumiiro, did anyone talk about chakra?" My mother asked, face dead serious. "No, not at all." **_'But we did!'_** My Inner cackled.


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, inspiration won't leave me today. Enjoy some more writing-KC527 Warning: Third Person POV switch ahead.**

* * *

It had been three days since Nezumiiro's conversation with Hinata. She had been thinking hard, the newfound knowledge opening a new whole world to her. The world of the shinobi, that is.

**_'Fuck yeah! We should totally become a badass shinobi! Kicking bad-guy- butt throughout all the nations!'_** Her inner raved, getting pumped about the subject. _'But what about Oka-san? She'll be really angry with me.'_ Nezumiiro countered, looking forlorn in her tree. **_'Screw her! We can be whatever the hell we want, dammit!'_** Nezumiiro imagined her Inner stomping her feet and punching an effigy that looked like Oka-san. She chuckled at the image.

"Hey who the heck are you?" Nezumiiro was brought back to reality by an agitated looking kid. He was about her height, maybe a bit taller, and had what only could be described as pineapple hair. When Nezumiiro didn't respond, his annoyance grew. This was his cloud watching tree and no one else was supposed to be here (except maybe Chouji, but that's a special occasion).

"What are you doing in my cloud watching tree?" He barked, staring Nezumiiro down. Nezumiiro was at a loss, she never dealt with an angry person before, especially when the person was angry at _her_. "This is my thinking tree…" She muttered, looking away. The boy continued to glare at her before heaving a giant sigh. She heard him grumbled out the word "Troublesome" before plopping on his back under the tree.

Nezumiiro observed him cautiously, was he trying to trick her? If she would crawl down would he jump up and chase her away like a mad dog? She was too confused by all the 'ifs' of the situation, she didn't noticed the boy observing her carefully.

"Oi!" He shouted, getting her attention, "I'm not going to chase you out, it's not like you're bothering me or whatever, besides it's too much work to chase after you." Nezumiiro concluded he was a very lazy boy. She stayed still for a moment, before crawling down from the tree. The boy ignored her, favouring the appeal of the drifting clouds. That is until she scooted beside him and began watching too.

"What are you doing?" He asked, head tilting a fraction to the side. "Cloud watching." She answered bluntly, scooting even more closely. He scooted away from her before saying, "Why do you have to lie with me to do it, there are plenty of other places." "Because my Oka-san it's more fun to do things in pairs." Nezumiiro explained with a tone of finality before scooting over so closely their sides touched.

* * *

_/SHIKA POV/_

Shikamaru stared at the strange boy beside him, he deduced that they were person that would keep to themselves and sit in the tree while he watched the clouds, not crawl down and cuddle up to his side. He didn't bother to shove the kid away, because he would most likely come back and snuggle him again; and that was a waste of effort and energy he could put to cloud watching.

"Ugh." He made himself comfortable and fixated his gaze on the clouds. The kid beside him did the same and all was finally quiet Until… "That one looks like a bird." The kid said, pointing at the cloud in question. Shikamaru sighed and looked at the cloud he was pointing at. Huh, it did look kind of like a bird. Shikamaru searched the sky before pointing at his own find. "That one looks like a rabbit." This game of finding animals in the clouds continued until they both got too tired to try anymore. Silence settled on the two children, just as sun was reaching its highest point in the sky.

"Hey kid, what's your name?" Shikamaru asked, breaking the peace. "It's Nezumiiro…" The kid yawned, fighting sleep. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at the slighty unusual and dull name. _'Who on earth would name their kid __**grey**__?'_ He thought. He opened his mouth to speak again, when he noticed his companion had fallen asleep on him. "Tch, troublesome." He sighed, getting up to leave.

He paused for a minute, looking back on his newfound acquaintance. He didn't want to come off as a jerk like that Sasuke kid, but he didn't want to stick around until the kid woke up. He thought up a plan quickly, before kneeling down and grabbing a spare pen. He wrote his message on Nezumiiro's hand and nodded. There, now they were even. He went without a second thought.

* * *

_/BACK TO NEZU-CHAN/_

Nezumiiro woke up as the sun was setting; it took her a minute to realize she fell asleep with a kid she was cloud watching with. She gave a quick scout before determining he left her. She felt her mood deflate; she didn't expect an immediate friendship, but at the least he could've woke her and said goodbye or something.

She put her face into her hands and sighed. When she pulled them away, she noticed the kanji scribbled on her palm. She turned it to get a better understanding of it.

_My name is Shikamaru._

Nezumirro smiled, she may not have gained his friendship but at least she got his name.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, sorry about this slightly boring chapter because of zero canon interaction (BLUH), but I hope it satisfies you, even if a little bit. I promise more canon interaction later. -KC527 **

* * *

_'thinking.'_

_'221.'_

**_'Inner.'_**

* * *

"Nezumiiro, where were you?" Oka-san asked in a fake happy tone. Now, Nezumiiro was not stupid, quite the opposite actually, in fact one would say as sharp as a tooth. So as she stood, cowering from the dangerous, plastered-on façade her mother was currently displaying, she was thinking of a hundred and one plausible excuses to get herself out of this mess. "Nezumiiro, I'm waiting~" Oka-san cooed, her smile reminiscence of…

_'A Cheshire cat's?'_

Nezumiiro's eyes widened slightly, a new voice? _'No Nezumiiro, I've been here for a long time.'__ 'What about Inner?' __'I made a deal with her; she filled in for us until we were ready.'__**'That's right kid! Sorry to split on ya', but I gotta get back to my original charge. SHANNARO!'**_ With that Inner was gone from Nezumiiro's mind, never to be heard from again. _'Ahem, not be a bother, but I think we need to get back to your current dilemma.__'_ Oh right, Oka-san!

"-zumiiro are you even listening?" Oka-san snarled. "Wha-?" "I asked "_where were you?"_ five times!" Oka-san interrupted. "I was cloud watching and I fell asleep…"Nezumiiro answered. Her mother gave her a hard look before shaking her head, muttering something, and departing to her room soon after. Nezumiiro just stood awkwardly at the door, teeth chewing on her bottom lip.

_'That's a really bad habit, quit destroying your lip.'_ The new voice commanded. Nezumiiro paused before obeying, stopping anymore potential damage to her already raw lip. _'So…Nezu-chan,' _The voice said,_ 'I guess I should formally introduce myself, my name is…actually I forgot it, so I'll name myself. Hmm…something easy to remember…I got it! My name is 221 [*pronounced two-twenty-one].' _Nezu smiled at the spacey personality of the voice. It was oddly comforting.

_'Anyway, I'll tell you right off the bat, I'm not the only "voice" you've got in your head. There are six of us; including me. The others don't want to come out and play yet and that's okay, they will eventually.'_ 221 explained. Nezu processed the information she was being given and nodded. Seemed like a fair enough arrangement. _'Anyways, you better scamper off to bed, it's probably really late.' _Nezu yawned as if on cue and did as told. Something tells her she'll need her energy.

* * *

Nezumiiro awoke to the sound of birds chirping and a tapping coming from her widow. She shook the sleep from her head and focussed on the tapping. Outside her window sat one of the ugliest birds she's ever seen. It was an off white and had pink eyes, it was missing feathers in some places, and its beak was cracked. "Ew!" Nezumiiro retched, rolling away from it.

It kept tapping on her window, begging to be let inside. "Gross, no! Go away you ugly bird!" She growled, tossing her stuffed bear at her window. The bird didn't even flinch. Nezumiiro grumbled and left to get washed up. Even after that, the bird was still tapping on her window. "Go away!" She shouted, glowering at the feathered asshole. As expected, it didn't budge, it just continued tapping.

"Argh!" Nezu punched the glass, hoping to get rid of it. She smiled in satisfaction when it fluttered backwards, only to have it fade when it came back shortly after. "What do you want, stupid animal?" Nezu hissed. It flicked its head to the side and back again. _'I think it wants in.'_221 replied. Nezumiiro's face scrunched in thought. She stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry. "No way, you dumb thing! You're staying outside where all icky animals belong!" Nezu scoffed, leaving the bird to tap on her window.

Nezumiiro was about to go outside when her mother stopped her. "Nezu-chan, I want you to come with me to the library today." Oka-san chirped. Nezu deflated slightly, she was hoping to go back to her tree. Her mother gestured her to hold her hand and she obeyed, clasping it with her little one. "Alright, let's go." Oka-san led her out the door and down the street.

* * *

Nezumiiro wished she had head like an owl's, because she had never been passed the playground before and she was curious about all the commotion. All kinds of people passed by; some with shopping bags, others with baby strollers, and some with nothing at all! She noticed a pretty flower shop while taking a break from people watching. _'Maybe we could stop there sometime.'_ 221 mused. Nezumiiro nodded in agreement.

The library had grand double doors and was full of books and scrolls. Her mother chattered with the librarian whilst she slipped off into the many shelves of the facility. _'You should check some of the books out, you might find something you like.'_ Nezumiiro acceded and pulled out a random book; it was six inches long, five and a half inches wide, an inch thick, and was bound in worn out green canvas. The title read: _A BEGGINNER'S GUIDE TO HERBALISM, an invaluable guide to curative herbs and natural medicines_.

Nezumiiro tilted her head in confusion "Herbalism…?" She flipped to the first page and began to read to the best of her ability. She had already read all the picture books and magazines that her mom had laying around the house, but she still didn't understand some of the words the book used. She'd need to get help with it later.

"Nezumiiro, there you are! Did you find something you like?" Oka-san asked. Nezumiiro nodded and showed her mother the book. Oka-san smiled and took it gingerly from her daughter's hands. "Alright, let's check it out and go back home." She walked back to the front desk and gave the librarian the book to sign out. Nezumiiro waited patiently and took hold of her mother's hand when exiting.

* * *

The walk was uneventful, as Nezumiiro was focussed on reading her newly borrowed book. "I hope you don't mind eating cup ramen Nezu, I don't feel like cooking." Nezu just waved it off and sat with her book. It had a list of medicinal herbs, what they could cure, and recipes of basic remedies. She would have to ask her mother to go picking for some tomorrow. _Tap_. Nezumiiro looked up from her book and raised an eyebrow. _Tap_._ Tap_. Her eyes wandered over to the window and she was greeted with a familiar sight.

The ugly bird from this morning.

Nezumiiro's mood went spiraling down the drain.

Scrunching up her nose, she began to search for a place without windows. She went in the bathroom, but no avail. The laundry room had very similar results. Nezumiiro was just about to give up when she noticed a cord dangling from the hallway ceiling. Curious, she gave it a gentle pull.

Nothing.

She gave it a firm yank.

Still nothing.

She grasped it with two hands and pulled with all her strength and down came a folding ceiling ladder. Nezumiiro's jaw went slack; to her this was like finding the closet that led to Narnia (though she doesn't get that reference). Looking around once, she climbed up the ladder, into the attic, and closed it with a sound click.

Little did she know, this was the last place her mother wanted her to be.


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright fifth installment of this series, this is my longest chapter yet, the next chapter is where she meets the academy kids. Anyways, enjoy it I worked hard! -KC527**

* * *

_'thinking.'_

"talking."

'Private Miller.'

* * *

The attic was like any other given one; dark, dusty, possibly harbouring a nest of creepy nastiness of the arachnid nature…

So just like any other given attic. It didn't have a window, which pleased Nezumiiro greatly, but on the other hand she could see anything worth squat. Putting her hands out in front of her, she felt her way around the cluttered mess. Her eyes just began get to adjusted to the darkness she tripped over an old yukata and nearly faceplanted into an old trunk. Her hands shot out and deflected her aforementioned fate, causing the trunk to let out a curious sound.

Instead of remaining silent (apart from her fall), it made a noise like a muffled metal clang. It didn't take half a minute's pause for Nezumiiro's curiosity to win her over and she opened the trunk, pulling out the first thing inside. It was lightweight and had a slightly rough feel to it. She realized it was rusty kunai, which surprised her a great deal. If her mother was so hell bent on barring her from a shinobi life, why keep shinobi tools in the attic?

Continuing, she retrieved the next item from the trunk; an underwater respirator. She turned it in her hands a few times and discarded it with the kunai. The next one was by far the most interesting; it was a vest of some sort, it had metal plates on the chest and stomach. Engraved in the middle of the chest plate was a weird symbol; two horizontal squiggly lines, encased in a circle. Around the circle, four ticks at the north, west, south, and east sides. It finished off with another circle connecting them.

Nezumiiro traced it over with her fingers. It was such a foreign thing; she couldn't help but be captivated. However, she again reached into the trunk, to be caught off guard by its sudden emptiness. She stood up and stuck her head inside, feeling around the bottom. Her hand hit something and she snatched it out. It was a headband, black cloth and a metal plate in the middle. Engraved were four vertical lines, the symbol of Amegakure.

Suddenly there was a whooshing sound followed by a slam. Light flooded in, causing Nezumiiro to drop the headband back in with shock. "Nezumiiro?" Her mother's voice floated through the hatch. Nezumiiro broke from her stupor and began shoving the things she found back in the trunk. Her mother climbed up the ladder and into attic with such speed, Nezumiiro barely had time to put the vest back in halfway. Nezumiiro froze, caught like a deer in headlights.

Her mother's eyes were wide as dinner plates which progressed into angry slits. She seized her daughter by the back of her shirt and tromped down the ladder. She dumped her in the hallway and kicked the ladder back to its original closed position. "You…" Oka-san's enraged voice snarled, "What were you doing up there, that was a strictly forbidden place, why were you up there?" Nezumiiro went silent, staring up at her mother with a kicked puppy look. It did little to quell her mother's anger.

"Nezumiiro! Answer me!" Oka-san hissed. Nezumiiro tried to speak, but it came out as strangled, pitiful noise. "I'm going to count to three and if you do not give me an answer, there will be punishment." Oka-san threatened. "One," Nezumiiro couldn't talk, "Two," Her vocal chords weren't responding, "Two and a half," The only noise that came was a high-pitched whine, "Three!" Her mother came charging forward to snatch her up, but Nezumiiro escaped and bolted out of the house!

Nezumiiro ran down the street, afraid to look back. The enraged shouts calling her name were no doubt her mother chasing after her. She ran into a variety of people, too scared to even care. Her mother's voice was getting closer and closer and she panicked. Taking a sharp turn into an alleyway behind a restaurant she collided into a young worker carrying a vat of used, but scalding hot, oil. It flew into the air and spilled over both of them! She let out a shriek of pain as it burned her skin, clamouring for any kind of relief from it!

In her painful stupor, she tripped and smashed her head on the corner of a dumpster and blacked out.

* * *

Horrible images.

Horrible, bloody, gory, violent images.

They were playing like a movie in her mind. The worst part wasn't so much as seeing them; she experienced them. She smelt the stench of blood, death, and heard the cries of agony from people who were getting slaughtered around her. A noise similar to a firecracker filled her head and she was flooded with panic and fear. She was the soldier. She was running for her life on that battlefield. She saw her friends getting gunned down by the bleeding hardheads. And by God, she saw a man with his intestines ripped out and screaming for his mother!

Oh God, it was all too real. It was real. It was her memory.

And it was horrible.

After about fifty minutes of it, she decided she didn't care anymore. She didn't struggle as the Nazis hauled her off to a camp. She didn't care as they tortured her and beat her senseless. She didn't care when they called her a obscene things. She didn't care when they lined her up with fifteen other captive soldiers and took aim with their guns. Then flash of the gunpowder filled her vision and she felt something that was much worse.

Regret.

It filled her with a horrible ache and ate at her soul. Her mother was waiting for her at home in Canada. She couldn't die! But there, lying in a pool of her own blood, listening to the laughter of her merciless captors, it was inevitable. She felt her breathing slowly to a hiss, her heart beating pitifully, all the memories of happier times flooding her mind. She felt nothing but regret.

She didn't even make it back to her wife and son. She promised him she would be back. She nothing but a shell of a human anymore. She couldn't bring herself to cry. She felt nothing. Hollow. Soulless.

As the light finally closed in, she walked right into it, awaiting the blackened limbo that would become her new home.

* * *

'Wake up baby doll, now is no time to peg out.'

It hurt, so badly. She couldn't even move an inch without feeling a dull ache.

'Come on sweetheart, open them peepers.'

Nezumiiro did as told and cracked open an eye.

'Good girl, try and sit up okay.'

_'221?'_

'Bum rap honey, my name is Private Miller, served in the Canadian Second Infantry Division at age 22, and was captured and killed during one of the biggest screw ups in military history, Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid.'

_'Oh…'_

'The memories you just saw were mine…or should I say ours, because I'm you about two lives ago.'

_'What? How is that even possible?'_

'I'm pretty sure you know about reincarnation, right? Well, that's the business in a nutshell.'

_'…'_

It was silent for a minute; Nezumiiro had a lot of new information to process. She tried to comprehend the fact she had lived many times before and now they were manifesting themselves as voices in her head. A sudden thought struck her; which life was 221?

'I'd guess she was the most recent one, lived decently, although, the way she died was pretty grisly.' Private Miller answered.

'However, it's not my place to tell you, you've got to ask her yourself baby doll.' He added.

"Okay." Nezumiiro whispered. This whole past lives thing was complicated, especially when she could talk to them. She decided this was something to dwell upon later, instead investing time in her current situation. She was currently in what she assumed was, a hospital. Forcing herself to sit up, she winced at the soreness in her muscles. A heart monitor was beeping in the background and an IV was fed into her arm, giving painkillers or maybe antibiotics.

She also wondered when a nurse would come check up on her and tell her what happened; because for the life of her she couldn't remember anything but the war. Nezumiiro flopped back down and whimpered, curling into the sheets. There were some many bodies. So much blood. 'You better get used to it kiddo, assuming that this won't be the first flashback you experience.' Miller advised. Nezumiiro shuddered at the thought of going back to it.

"Oh my goodness, you're up!"

Nezumiiro's eyes flicked to a lone nurse coming to her side. "Now just stay there and relax, I'm going to get the doctor." With that she left. Nezumiiro sighed heavily and closed her eyes, listening only to the sound of the heart monitor.

"Wake up, Chibi-san." A cheerful voice teased. Nezumiiro opened her eyes immediately, spotting her doctor. He was younger than she expected. "Morning Chibi-san, I just came to let you know your mother has been contacted, she's on her way to see you right now." He explained, smiling widely. "Now I'm going to test you, answer truthfully please." He began prodding her in places and asking if she felt it, and she answered as truthfully as possible. "Alright, you nearly good to go, now for the bad news." He cleared his throat before continuing. "Well, we healed your burns fairly easily, however the portions that were most affected, the skin has become discoloured compared to the rest of your body." He informed, tapping his clipboard nervously.

"And as for your forehead, it had already begun to scar over and heal naturally when you arrived, so we left it alone for the most part." He then handed her a mirror, which she took gingerly. Nothing could've prepared her for the next thing she saw. Her right shoulder, extending from her an inch below her collar bone to her jaw line was ruddy pink splotch that used to be a third-degree burn. Her forehead had two scars running down through her eyebrows to her upper eyelid; they started at the hairline and connect into a Y shape after her eyebrows.

Nezumiiro hadn't felt uglier in her entire life and looking down she saw her arms were discoloured too. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as her mother came rushing in. "Nezumiiro, thank Kami! You're awake!" Oka-san sobbed. She enveloped her daughter in a tight hug and cried into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry Nezumiiro; I'll never get mad at you again! I'll even let you use your chakra if you want, heck I'd let you be a shinobi if you want! Just…forgive me; I'm so sorry I did this to you my beautiful baby girl." Oka-san croaked, her voice hoarse from so much sobbing.

Nezumiiro tightened her hold on the sheets, her mom did this to her? "What do you mean did this to me?" Nezumiiro asked, slightly apprehensive. "When I chased you down the street, you ran behind that Chinese style restaurant and bumped into a young man carrying hot oil! When I found you, you were passed out on the ground bleeding from you head. I've never been so scared in my life!" Oka-san sniffled.

She wrapped her arms around her daughter and cried, saying "I'm sorry" over and over again. Nezumiiro just sat there and took it, face blank. She traced her fingers over her scars and swallowed a lump in her throat. She resolved she would need to be strong for herself and her mother. Patting her mom's arm, she gestured for her to lean over. Her mother complied and Nezumiiro whispered in her ear, "Were you serious about letting me become a shinobi?" Her mom let out a strangled noise and reluctantly nodded.

After that, Nezumiiro stayed one more day at the hospital until everything was proven fine. When she arrived home; her mother sat her down in the living room. "Do really want to be a shinobi?" She quavered. Nezumiiro nodded. Inhaling deeply her mother began to speak, "I didn't want to tell you, but seeing as you want this, I have no other choice." Clearing her throat she continued,

"Your father…he had a special power…or kekkei genkai, so to speak. Instead of having chakra comprised of both body and spirit energy, it was made of thirty percent spirit energy and seventy percent soul energy. This made it extremely volatile and hard to control. It caused damage to him, sometimes he was bedridden for weeks at a time, but he was never really good at chakra control." Her mother laughed bitterly at the last statement.

"And I was so scared for you to unlock it, because you could get really hurt, but I guess it would p-probably be better to train you than to have it bottled up inside waiting to explode." Oka-san choked out, blowing her nose. "I hope you can forgive me for keeping it from you Nezumiiro…" She murmured.

Nezumiiro was quiet too before she spoke up. "Oka-san, I have something I want to tell you too," She whispered, "I want to go to school as a boy." "What?" He mother exclaimed, bug-eyed at her daughter's request. "B-but honey why?" She spluttered, trying to understand why. "B-because I'm too ugly n-now…" Nezumiiro stuttered, unshed tears appearing in her eyes. "Oh baby, you're not." Oka-san consoled, reaching out to hug her daughter.

"Y-yes I am, besides I saw a girl get bullied just for her big forehead, what do you think they'll do about mine? And what about my skin?" She asked, gesturing to her discoloured skin.

Her mother gave her an empathetic look and gave in. "Alright baby, you can go as a boy, just…be careful about keeping it a secret." Oka-san concluded giving her daughter a reassuring hug. "So when do I go?" Nezumiiro asked. "How about tomorrow?" Oka-san suggested. Nezumiiro nodded in her mother's arms. Tomorrow was going to be one of the toughest days of her life, she just knew it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hooray for canon interaction! It shall be glorious! Also idontownnarutoitbelongstokishimotoyadayadaect.**

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"talking."

_'thinking.'_

_'221.'_

'Private Miller.'

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/IRUKA SENSEI POV/

"Iruka!" The man in question perked up at sound of his name. "Yes, Mizuki-san?" He asked politely, putting away some written tests that soon to be graduates had written. "We've received notice that a student will be transferring in from the civilian sector, their mother will be visiting today." Mizuki informed. "A civilian transfer?" Iruka muttered to himself. This didn't usually happen; normally civilians register their children at the beginning of the school year, not two months into it. How odd…

"Did you say their mother would be visiting today?" Iruka asked. Mizuki gave a nod and sat beside him. "Actually she'll be here in ten minutes, also I need to skip out on the meeting, something personal came up so…" Mizuki left his chair and slowly made his way to the door, "Excuse me." With a slight bow he left the room, leaving Iruka to deal with soon arriving parent. Iruka stared at the door where his co-worker used to be and rubbed his face.

"Why do they always pick on me?" He groaned. He leaned back in his chair and exhaled. Looking around, he decided to tidy up his desk a bit, after all someone was coming. After the menial task was finished he zoned out, staring at the clock. He didn't even notice the beautiful woman in the doorway he was so absorbed in it. "Um, excuse me." She called, waving her hand to get his attention. Iruka did a double take and almost fell from his chair.

"U-uh yes, may I help you Miss?" He stammered, straightening to a more dignified position. "Yes, I'm Nezumiiro's mother, Miyumi , sh…er…he'll be transferring here soon." She explained. "Ah, I see, well I'm Iruka; I suppose I'll be your son's teacher for the rest of his stay here at the academy." Iruka informed, holding out a hand for Miyumi to shake. She took with a gentle hand and gave three good shakes. "The reason I wanted to meet with is…my s-son's…condition." She mumbled, looking away.

"Condition? Are they ill?" Iruka inquired, wondering why they would send their child to the academy if they were physically inept. "No, not at all…it's just, there was an elaborate accident recently and he is suffering from self-perception issues because of the result of it. I came here to let you know so you can help h…him with it and also try to help the other children understand that he can't undo the damage." Miyumi imparted, trying to hold back tears.

Iruka faltered, he never had to deal with a crying woman before, an angry woman maybe, but not crying. "Don't worry Miyumi-san, I promise to take care of your son to the best of my ability." He promised, giving her a salute. Miyumi smiled appreciatively and uttered a quiet thank-you before departing. Iruka sighed again, what a hoot the kids are going to have tomorrow. He just hopes Naruto, Kiba, or someone doesn't torment the poor boy.

/REGULAR THIRD PERSON POV PLUS TIME SKIP TO THE NEXT DAY/

"Alright class, today we're getting a new student. I want you to treat him _very _kindly and NO PRANKING!" He yelled the last part at the more "spirited" students of the class (*cough*kiba*cough, cough*). At this news the class began to chatter excitedly, curious about the new student they'll be getting. "Alright, alright, settle down. Nezumiiro you can come in now." Iruka said kindly, making a "come in" gesture.

Hinata and Shikamaru perked up slightly, remembering the confident and casual boy. Imagine theirs, and the class', surprise when a shy looking little boy, wearing a huge scarf and covering his left eye with his bangs, came walking in quiet as a mouse. He stood in front of them nervously and visibly shaking. Some of the children began murmuring and they looked as if they were about to cry.

"Quiet!" Iruka shouted and they obeyed. He surveyed the room and pinpointed an empty seat. "Alright, Nezumiiro just go and sit by Sasuke up there." He explained, pointing to the mentioned boy. Nezumiiro nodded and made her way up to her seat. She felt all the girls' glares on her back and she nearly fell when one of them attempted to trip her. She finally made it up there and took a seat.

"Okay class, we're going to do some simple chakra control exercises as review." Iruka announced. The kids all groaned and wandered their way to the front. "Quit complaining! Besides its good to have a review, it shows how well you're progressing." Everyone knew he was just doing this because he didn't want the newbie to fall behind.

He picked up a pile of leaves and began placing them on each of the children's foreheads. To Nezumiiro's amazement, the leaves stuck to their foreheads like magic! When it came to her turn, she just gave a wide-eyed, confused puppy look. Iruka laughed and patted her on the head. "Alright Nezumiiro, this is called Leaf Sticking. It's when you make your chakra got to your forehead and make it cling to the leaf so it will stick." He explained, demonstrating with ease.

Nezumiiro nodded and placed the leaf on her forehead. It fell off quickly, causing the class to giggle. Embarrassed, she tried again with the same result. The giggles became laughter and Nezumiiro made a strangled whine, fighting to keep back frustrated tears. "Okay, okay, here." Iruka interrupted and squatted so he was on her level. "I want you to close your eyes and concentrate on the big, warm ball of energy in your stomach," He instructed, "Now I want you to pull that energy and direct it to your forehead, okay?"

Nezumiiro nodded and did as told. It was really hard, it didn't want to come out at first, but she got it to move upwards a bit. She continued to wrestle with it until it was at her forehead. Iruka then placed a leaf on her forehead and she pushed her chakra into the leaf. It stuck.

"Great! Now I want you all to hold that for 10 minutes." He instructed, stepping back to observe the other kids. Nezumiiro was trembling from the exertion of trying to keep her unruly chakra stable. "Almost done, two more minutes!" Iruka encouraged. Nezumiiro was sweating bullets; she struggled to keep her breathing steady. "Alright, we're done!" As soon as the words left Iruka's lips, Nezumiiro's knees buckled and she collapsed on the floor. Iruka rushed to her side and helped her up. "Are you okay Nezumiiro? You need to see the nurse?" He asked. Nezumiiro nodded and took his hand as he led her out the door.

When she passed Sasuke, she heard him mutter the word "Pathetic" with such venom she broke down in tears when they reached the halls. "Hey, hey, Nezumiiro-kun you'll get better, you just need more training." Iruka consoled. "B-but he called me pathetic, I c-can't even last ten minutes with Leaf Sticking!" She bawled. "Wait, who called you pathetic?" Iruka asked, disbelieving. "S-Sasuke, he said I was pathetic!" She spluttered, trying furiously to stop crying.

Iruka gave her a sad smile and wrapped her up in a comforting hug. "Don't listen to Sasuke, he's a prodigy by definition, of course he'll do better than most kids." He explained. "B-but what about the other kids?" Nezumiiro sniffled, leaning into the hug. "Actually there's one I want you to meet, he's had just as much trouble as you when he first started." Iruka whispered, "But first let's get you cleaned up." Nezumiiro nodded and let him carry her to the nurse's office.

/BACK THE CLASSROOM/

"So what do you think of the new kid?"

"I don't think he'll make it very far…"

Sasuke snorted catching everyone's attention before adding in his own comment. "He has worse chakra control than Naruto." At this all the girls swooned and agreed immediately. However one of them was unimpressed. "D-don't say t-things l-like that!" Hinata stammered. Sasuke smirked and turned to her. "About who? Naruto or the flunk?" He sneered, making Hinata recoil. She gathered up her courage and stood as tall as she could, determined spark in her eyes. "B-both of them!" She retorted, giving Sasuke a nasty glare, "And don't call him a f-flunk!" Everyone gasped and stared in shock. Hinata raised her voice! And she glared at Sasuke! Sasuke was taken aback a bit, before coming up with something devious.

"Do you _like_ the flunk?" He jeered his Uchiha smirk at fullest power. Hinata turned cherry red immediately and sputtered out protests. Everyone began to giggle and tease her for it. _'It's not true! I like Naruto-kun, b-but I can't say that, they'll tell him for sure. Oh no, what do I do?'_ She thought, hiding her face in shame. At this time, Iruka and Nezumiiro made their timely appearance causing the giggles to quiet to amused whispering.

"Alright class, you can take your seats." Iruka commanded, setting Nezumiiro down and coaxing him to take his seat. Once all seated, Iruka cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak when a certain whiskered rascal came running in. "I'm here sensei!" He shouted, fox grin taking over his features. He was covered in dirt and leaves, his hair messier than usual. "Naruto…why are you so late?" Iruka growled, hands on his hips.

"Heh, heh you see I ran into this lady and she chased me through the park and I fell down a hill, but I made dattebayo!" He cheered, causing his teacher to sigh in frustration. "Well, we have a new student-!" "Really!" Naruto interrupted, looking around comically. His eyes finally landed on Nezumiiro and he flew over to her. "Hey there I'm Naruto Uzamaki! I'm the best ninja of all time!" He greeted. Nezumiiro made a squeak and pulled up her scarf.

Naruto tilted his head, confused. He stared at her a bit longer before blurting out, "Are you a girl?" Everyone busted out into laughter! Nezumiiro was wide-eyed and distraught. She gave Iruka a pleading look and he swooped in to save her. "NARUTO NEZUMIIRO'S A BOY!" He shouted, bopping his problematic student on the head. "W-what, he's too pretty looking to be a boy, I'm not stupid sensei!" Naruto protested.

Nezumiiro sunk into her chair, quivering like a bowl of jelly. _'__He's more perceptive than he looks; we need to be careful around him.'_ 221 commented, making Nezumiiro bob her head in agreement. Sasuke caught it, but dismissed it as embarrassment. 'Game face on baby-doll, remember why we came here!' Miller reminded. Nezumiiro nodded again and sat up, face fiery with determination. Iruka caught the look on her face and mentally laughed. _'He's a lot like Naruto; I just know they'll hit it off.'_ He thought, ecstatic about his plan after school.

"Alright class, let's get back to our lesson on chakra networks…"

Nezumiiro rubbed her eyes tiredly, bag heavy with scrolls and homework. _'Who knew being a shinobi meant knowing so much.'_ She sighed. _'Cheer up, at least you made progress! Plus Iruka gave you some training scrolls to help you improve!'_ 221 inputted. 'I'm proud of you, you little cookie. You tried your damned best in there, you made this soldier proud.' Miller praised. Nezumiiro teared up again, grin etching onto her face. _'Thanks guys.'_ She thought, feeling better already.

"Nezumiiro-kun, wait up!" Nezumiiro turned around and spotted Iruka headed towards her. "I want you to come with me and meet the kid I was talking about earlier!" He exclaimed. "What about my Oka-san?" Nezumiiro queried. "I'll explain everything when you go home, but now let's go." Iruka offered her his hand which she accepted. They walked for a while before coming upon a humble looking ramen restaurant.

"Iruka-sensei your late!" A familiar voice rung through Nezumiiro's ears. In front of them was the familiar blonde haired kid that almost exposed her. Naruto was it? "Hey Naruto," Iruka laughed, pushing away the cloth separating him form the restaurant. Naruto looked down at Nezumiiro and almost choked on his ramen. "Hey you're the girly looking boy from earlier!" He shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her. "Naruto, stop being so rude! Nezumiiro this is Naruto, Naruto this is Nezumiiro." Iruka introduced. He picked up Nezumiiro and sat her on the chair beside him. "I know his name sensei! I'm not stupid!" Iruka let out a chuckle before sniggering, "Your test scores say otherwise." Causing Naruto to rant about how all the tests are unfair and dumb.

Nezumiiro sat quietly observing, before being interrupted by a kind voice. "Would you like anything?" She looked up and saw a nice looking girl. Nezumiiro nodded and whispered, "Do have anything vegetarian?" The girl had a look of surprise before grinning. "That's odd not many people are vegetarian, it's interesting to meet someone who does, even more so at your age." She prattled. Nezumiiro smiled, thankful she didn't make a huge deal of it- "WHAT YOU'RE A VEGETARIAN?!" Naruto exclaimed, looking at Nezumiiro bug-eyed. "HOW DO YOU LIVE?" He added. Nezumiiro cracked a tiny smile at his antics, he wasn't so bad when you get used to it.

"Actually, vegetarian food is really good, and some of it tastes like meat." She replied. "Wait if you're vegetarian, then how do you know what meat tastes like?" Naruto asked, making another over exaggerated suspicious face. Nezumiiro giggled, _'He's actually kind of funny…'_ She thought. "It's because I'm a vegetarian by choice." She answered. Naruto gasped melodramatically and clutched his heart. "You KNOW what meat tastes like and you still WANT be a vegetarian?" He wheezed. Nezumiiro nodded before offering her explanation. "It's because I don't like the idea of paying people to slaughter animals." She finished, slurping some of her veggie ramen.

Naruto faltered, processing her answer. "Hmm, maybe I should try being a vegetarian…" He mused. Eyeing his miso ramen he added, "…then again…Ichiraku miso ramen tastes too good to give up!" He wolfed it down with vigor and finished it in record time! "More please!" He shouted, causing Nezumiiro to laugh. Iruka smiled to himself as his student began to chat a bit, _'Mission accomplished.'_


	7. Shitty Holiday Author Note

Hey guys, this is a crappy author note. I'm leaving for the holidays early and I won't update as frequently (not saying that I won't update though). Plus I'm going to my Mum's house in a rinky-dinky reserve, of Tunor Lake, SK, so the internet might flop on me D': I'm sorry about this and please bear with me! ~ Love, KC527


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, here's chapter six! The Author note will be taken down after my vacation is over, because having it block the other chapters sucks. Anyways, enjoy! ~ KC527**

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"I'm so happy that you've made a friend already Nezumiiro." Oka-san smiled, giving her daughter a hug. "Yeah, but I didn't do very well in class…" Nezumiiro sighed, continuing to read a scroll about the specific procedures of dealing with foreign ninjas. "Nezumiiro, why are you reading third year material?" Oka-san asked, looking over her daughter's shoulder. Nezumiiro nodded and kept reading. "I may as well load up on knowledge so I'm not totally…pathetic." She muttered, holding her head in the palm of her hand.

"Nezumiiro is someone bullying you?" Oka-san growled. "No, Oka-san-!" "Because Oka-san will go over there and kick their ass-!" "Kaa-chan!" Nezumiiro whined indignantly, face flushing with embarrassment. Oka-san laughed when she heard her daughter resort to the petty nickname. She buried her face in her baby's hair and gave her a kiss. "Oka-san just wants her baby to be happy and feel beautiful and if some little punk is bullying my cub, this momma bear will tear their spine out and shove it up their bu-!" "Oka-san you're going overboard." Nezumiiro hissed.

"Sorry~" Oka-san apologized, leaving her daughter to study. 'What a weird old bird.' Miller stated, making himself known once again, 'But you have got to respect the ferocity on your account, baby girl.' _'Yeah I wish my mom would've fought for me like that, she just told me to suck it up.'_ 'Sucking it up gives you character.' _'No one cares about that.'_ 'Except for your boss, this is probably one of the most important authority figures in your life.' _'Hitler was a boss; would you suck it up for him?'_ '…Jive argument sweetheart, you win this round.' Nezumiiro giggled at her past selves antics.

_'Nezumiiro, you should probably practice Leaf Sticking, you'll only get better with practice.'_ 221 suggested. _'Alright, but you guys need to be quiet so I can concentrate better.'_ 'I promise to be good, but about the other one, that's above my pay grade.' _'Screw you and your 1940's slang!'_ _'Guys shush!'_ Nezumiiro was barely containing her laughter; it felt as if her ribs would break if she did any longer.

"Bwahahaha, ow…*cough* Stop guys, you're killing me." Nezumiiro begged, battling the painful laughter.

They both apologized and remained quiet. Nezumiiro rolled up her scroll and left to practice Leaf Sticking. She sat in her yard and spent a bit of time picking out a leaf (she had to find just the _right_ one) and began. Her chakra was just as feral as the first time; it was a battle to even get it passed her shoulders. However, it was a bit easier to keep it at her forehead. Placing the leaf on her forehead, she took deep, steadying breaths.

She felt the fatigue creep in at what must have been five minutes, but she kept pushing her chakra into the leaf. At seven minutes, her breathing was ragged and sweat coated her skin in a shiny sheet. _'Three more minutes, just three more minutes!'_ She recited in her head, repeating it over and over. When reaching the ten minute mark, she collapsed on the lawn, unable to push it any further.

"Dammit! Dammit, dammit!" She croaked, tears falling down her cheeks. She wasn't any better off from her first time; she still couldn't make it to a measly ten minutes! "Why? Why me?" She cried, "I hate it! I hate this!" She curled in to a tiny ball, sobs racking her body. She cried for a good half hour, laying there in a ball of self-pity before retreating back into her house. Opening her scrolls, she continued to study.

She felt so weak and useless, unable to keep up with the others. Like a sick reindeer that fell behind and was now left for the wolves to devour. Abandoning her scrolls, she decided it was time for a visit to her tree. The journey to the playground was short and sweet, no interruptions, plain and simple. When she arrived however, it was for from short and sweet. "Hey there _flunk_." A menacing voice sneered.

Nezumiiro realized it was Daichi, one of her classmates. She just ignored him and kept walking. He growled and pushed her, sending her stumbling into the sand. "I said hello to you flunk, or are you too much of a dunce to know that?" He hissed, digging his heel into her back. Nezumiiro let out a small whine and wriggled beneath his foot. At this point a sizable crowd had begun to gather round, eager to see the scene playing before them. "Hey you bastard, get off of him!" A very loud and familiar voice filled through the air. There in all his glory, Naruto Uzumaki stood proud and tall. "Wow, it's the village outcast protecting the flunk, how predictable." Daichi snorted.

_'What's predictable is this overly cliché bullying scene, come on Nezumiiro, kick his ass!'_ 221 shouted inside Nezumiiro's head. "How about instead of kicking the flunk's ass, I kick both of your guys' asses instead?" Daichi grinned; crushing his foot into Nezumiiro's back even more. _'Oh for the love of sweet Christ! That was the worst threat I have ever heard in my entire life, Nezumiiro get up and defend all that is original and non-cliché!'_

Naruto was just about to retort when Nezumiiro grabbed Daichi's leg and threw him off of herself and began beating his face in! "Never-use- such-a -cheap-line!" She shouted between punches. Daichi was clawing at her face, trying to gain dominance in the fight. He finally grabbed her scarf and pulled, cutting off her air supply! Nezumiiro coughed and pulled at her scarf, but Daichi refused to stop suffocating her. With a swift punch at Daichi's face, followed by a sickening crack, Daichi screamed and yanked off her scarf.

There was a collective gasp and everyone froze. Nezumiiro's scarf lay forgotten on the sand, not that anyone cared. All attention was focussed solely on the marks it once hid. Nezumiiro stood wide-eyed in front of the crowd of children; arms wrapped around herself defensively. Biting her lip, she decided the cat was out of the bag and brushed away her bangs; revealing the cruel permanently engraved Y.

The crowd erupted in murmurs, all the children cowering and cringing at the sight of her. Nezumiiro stood tall and firm, with a pseudo pride so convincing it fooled nearly everyone. Nearly. With as much dignity she could muster, Nezumiiro turned on her heel and left the playground. It was silent apart from Daichi's groans of pain and the rattle of the swings being pushed by wind. Eventually the children broke the shocked stupor and quickly departed for home. All of them but Naruto Uzumaki.

Now Naruto wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but he sure as hell knew when someone wasn't okay. And Nezumiiro was definitely not okay. He stared at the spot where his new friend had left before scooping up Nezumiiro's abandoned scarf and chasing after _/him/_. He had been at it for two hours before finding _/him/_ by a small pond two miles away from the playground.

"Nezumiiro?" He asked cautiously. Nezumiiro didn't respond. "I, uh…brought your scarf." Naruto offered, hoping for some sort of reaction. Nezumiiro didn't budge. Naruto scuttled over to the bank where Nezumiiro was sitting. Upon closer inspection, he realized Nezumiiro was crying. Silent tears poured down from _/his/_ face, light gone form _/his/_ eyes. Naruto had no idea to go about consoling Nezumiiro, he had no clue of how _/he/_ would react to a hug and it was evident that _/he/_ didn't want to talk.

So they sat in silence.

They sat like that for the longest time, watching the fireflies and listening to the chirrups of the cicadas. After what seemed to be decades, Nezumiiro shifted and turned her head to face Naruto. He flinched when her red-rimmed gaze fell upon his own. Nezumiiro coughed and broke down. She sobbed and shook, hands desperately trying to stifle the tidal wave of embarrassment and sorrow. She felt Naruto wrap his arms around her and she quickly responded with her own hug.

"I-I'm s-sorry!" Nezumiiro bawled, "I-I'm sorry y-you had t-to see!" "See what?" Naruto asked, even though the answer was obvious. "This!" Nezumiiro shouted, pointing to her scars and discoloured skin. Naruto was silent before his face split into a grin. "Why would you be sorry? They look super cool, dattebayo!" He beamed. Nezumiiro stopped crying and quieted to sniffles. "I mean it looks like you got in a really brutal fight and totally kicked ass!" Naruto added. Nezumiiro sighed and turned away from him, putting her feet into the water. Naruto followed in suite, patting her on the back.

"Naruto…" The boy in question hummed in response. "You're a good person." Nezumiiro whispered. With that said she got up, gave him one last hug, and left. Soon after Naruto left for his own house. The scarf was left dangling on a branch nearby, all but forgotten.


	9. Chapter 8

**Here we are, chapter eight! Isn't this the best thing ever?**

* * *

"talking"

_'thinking'_

_"Oliver"_

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All the children in the classroom were antsy; everyone who had been at the playground had already spread the word among their peers like wildfire and all were anticipating the arrival of Nezumiiro. For the first time in his life Naruto arrived on time, something that baffled Iruka beyond words. When he asked Naruto why he showed up early, he just responded with a, "You'll see when all hell breaks loose." So everyone was tense and alert, waiting for the one thing, or rather person, that would break it.

Exactly one minute before the bell, she arrived. Nezumiiro stood in all her glory; just a regular black tee and blue knee length shorts, hair adjusted so her scars were on full display. Every student's eyes were the size of dinner plates (except Sasuke, but his eyes widened a bit more than usual), some openly gaping at her. Nezumiiro made her way to the back of the class and sat in the farthest left-hand corner.

Naruto frowned, eyeing the class suspiciously, just waiting for them to even say something mean. Iruka on the other hand was now fully aware as to why Nezumiiro's mother had come to inform him about Nezumiiro. She just left out the part of the extent of the damage. The silence was broken by clapping. That clapping came from none other than Uchiha Sasuke. The strange thing though, it wasn't slow, mocking applause, it was the kind you gave when someone had just impressed you.

The shocked silence quickly deteriorated and the class all took their seats. However, everyone took care to avoid the farthest left-hand corner. Iruka cleared his throat and announced today would mark the beginning of taijustu training, much to the displeasure of the class. Nezumiiro just stared blankly ahead, not even responding. When everyone was herded outdoors, Iruka presented everyone to the track and ordered them to complete a total of thirty laps.

The class took off as fast as they could go, Nezumiiro lagging behind with just an even paced jog. On his second lap and Nezumiiro still on her first, Naruto slowed down to walk beside her. "Hey, Nezumiiro why are you going so slow?" He asked. "You'll see why after fifteen laps." She replied, keeping her pace. Naruto shrugged and went back to running full speed ahead. Soon after, the class was beginning to get extremely tired, struggling to keep even at a slow jog. Nezumiiro was barely affected, only a bit of sweat appearing on her forehead.

At her last seven laps she began sprinting as fast as she could go, whilst everyone else dragged their feet behind her. She arrived at the finish line earlier than everyone else; her breathing remarkably steadier than the others. "Great job everyone," Iruka praised, looking down at his clipboard, "Now you all must complete a total of twenty one push ups!" Everyone groaned and Nezumiiro smiled, she had this in the bag.

* * *

"Arrgh, that was the worst day ever! My body hurts everywhere!" Naruto complained, slurping up his ramen. Iruka laughed and patted Naruto on the head, "You'll get used to it." "Oi, Nezumiiro! How did you do so well? You're not even sore!" Naruto asked, glaring at the person in question. Nezumiiro put down her bowl and faced Naruto. "The key, Naruto, is to not push yourself too hard in the beginning, that way you'll have energy left for the end." Nezumiiro replied with an intellectual flair.

Naruto sat gaping at Nezumiiro, shocked by the unexpected spout of wisdom. "How the hell did you know that?" He yelled, slamming his hands on the counter. Nezumiiro laughed at Naruto's drama and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Someone with experience told me." She answered, giving a tip to Ayame. She then hopped off her stool and made her way down the street. "O-oi! Nezumiiro you can't go alone!" Iruka stammered, getting up from his stool.

She waved him off and kept walking away. She didn't get very far because in a flash, Iruka appeared in front of her, hands on hips. "You're waiting until we're finished eating." He commanded, picking her up by the scruff of her neck and placing her back on her stool. Nezumiiro sighed and gave up. Iruka-sensei was stubborn when he believed in something, and this was no exception. "So who gave you that advice?" Naruto asked, curious look on his face. Nezumiiro thought it would be best not to tell them about her past lives. "A friend." It wasn't a total lie.

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms, dissatisfied with that answer. "That's no kind of answer!" He grumbled. "Actually it is, and that's the only answer you'll get." Nezumiiro stated, leaning her head on the counter. Naruto growled and began to rant on how friends don't keep secrets from each other and other things, Nezumiiro tuned him out for the most part. "Hey Nezumiiro are you even listening?" Naruto huffed. Nezumiiro didn't even bother to respond.

Naruto groaned banged his head on the counter. Iruka laughed at his two students and ruffled their hair. "Alright you two, time to head home." He said, picking them up. He paid for the meal and quickly leapt across the buildings and in minutes they were at Naruto's apartment. "Goodnight Naruto." Nezumiiro waved goodbye before Iruka leapt for her house. When all was said and done, Nezumiiro went inside and collapsed on the couch.

"Hard day of training?" Ka-san inquired, putting away some clean dishes. "Yeah." Nezumiiro replied, rolling over and sighing. She grabbed another scroll and began to read. It was all on basic theory of shuriken trajectory, something she'd already covered ages ago. "Ugh," she moaned, letting her head drop onto the arm of her couch. No wonder Naruto never did his homework, everything was boring as hell.

Instead she settled for lying useless on the couch. _'Why can't I just graduate?'_ She thought, burying her head into the couch. 'Nothing is ever that easy, sweetheart.' Miller answered. _'Miller, I'm not in the mood.'_ Nezumiiro sighed, closing her eyes to sleep.

* * *

_Gazing upon the streets of London, the Thief picked out all the suitable targets for simple pickpocketing. He made another mental list of people that may have valuables in their homes. Swinging down from the rafters, he swiftly blended his way into the crowd and begun his work. It was like shooting fish in a barrel, the crowded streets were the perfect excuse to "bump" into people and take their money. He snatched about five wallets before spotting a target of much greater value than any common folk walking in the street. There in plain daylight, was the Archduke of England. The Thief came up with a plan that would need the most exact precision to execute. He had that precision. Sauntering up, the Thief snuck behind the spectators and to the back of the other side of the carriage. He began to pick the lock on the ornate trunk on the back of it with skill that came with years of practice. The Thief had just popped the lock when a frightened whinny brought him out of his focus. Realizing his cover had been blown, the Thief made way to retreat when the hooves of the frightened horses collided with his back! The crowd gasped in horror and some even tried to calm the beasts. Despite the crowd's best efforts, the horses kept up their assault, hooves snapping ribs and crushing legs! Finally, lifting one leg high in the air, the leading horse brought it down on the Thief's head, splattering brain matter and bits of skull all over the cobblestone.  
_

* * *

Nezumiiro's eyes shot open and she sprung up from her sleeping place on the couch. Wiping the sweat off her brow, she got up to get herself a drink when she was hit by a dizzy spell. Collapsing on the floor, she clutched her aching head. She felt the pain in her dream and she tasted the blood that flooded the thief's nose and mouth right before he died. "Why are my dreams always so graphic?" She coughed, crawling to the sink and filling a glass of water.

"_I suppose it is because your past lives were all unable to protect their own damn lives."_ Nezumiiro nearly dropped her glass. _'Another one?' "Yes love, there are six of us, remember?"_ This voice had a weird accent, something that differentiated it from the others greatly. _'Who are you?' "I am Oliver Chapman, one of the greatest thieves in all of London." 'What's a London, is it a country?' "No you bloody prat, it is a city, the place of which I once called home." 'Oh,um…I'm sorry…?' "Pleb."_ Nezumiiro was taken aback, up until now her past lives were all friendly, or at the least courteous. _"We cannot all be good people."_ Oliver informed, _"Take it from someone who broke into homes, cheated, and stole for a living."_

Nezumiiro didn't patronize him for that, because it was most likely true. Why else would there be prisons? _"Exactly, it is best you learn the world is not all nimby-pimby and butterflies, you will live longer that way."_ Nezumiiro hummed in agreement and finished her drink. _'You're right…'_ She thought, _'I guess that's why being ninja is so stressful…'_ Nezumiiro sighed and sat down. _"Indeed, your world's customs and means of obtaining soldiers are intriguing." 'Please just leave.' "Fine brat, but don't expect friendly advice anytime soon." _ With that said, Oliver left to the inner corners of her mind. Nezumiiro sighed, it was already complicated with just two people in her head, now she had to deal with another and there were three more to come.

'_Maybe there's something in the library for sealing away voices in your head.'_ She thought. She looked at the clock and saw it read 3:30 am. _'Dammit, still three hours left to kill!'_ Nezumiiro glared at the clock and switched her gaze to the mountains of homework covering the floor. "…May as well…" She sighed, getting to work.

* * *

"Nezumiiro, are you up?" Ka-san called, after discovering her daughter wasn't in her bed. "Yeah…" A groggy voice groaned. She found her daughter slumped the floor with paper, notebooks, and pencils scattered around. Nezumiiro herself looked positively terrible; dark circles made her eyes look sunken and she was a shade paler than her normally tan complexion. "…Maybe you should stay home today honey." Ka-san suggested.

"I'm fine…just tired…" Nezumiiro drawled, slowly getting up and stumbling towards the door. Ka-san made a concerned hum and gave in. "Fine but if you feel too sick, don't hesitate to come home." She informed. Nezumiiro made a reassuring comment and messily gathered her completed homework. She walked out the door and headed to the academy. She ran into three power line poles on her way there, but was too drowsy to even care.

"Um…Nezumiiro, maybe you should go home." Iruka-sensei insisted. "I'm fine sensei…" Nezumiiro huffed, nearly tripping over her feet. Nezumiiro's popularity had reached an all-time low; everyone avoided her like she was a brain-sucking alien. And as if her looks were enough to scare anyone away. "Nezumiiro-kun, go home! You're sick!" Naruto commanded, getting in her face. "I'm fine Naruto, will you guys stop bothering me!" Nezumiiro snapped.

"You're disgusting." A familiar snarky voice scoffed. Nezumiiro glared at Sasuke in weak challenge. She broke the stare down with a coughing fit, further proving Sasuke's point. "Just go home; I don't want your filth contaminating everything." He stated blandly. Naruto growled and stood protectively in front of Nezumiiro. "Shut up bastard! He can do whatever the hell he wants!" He shouted. "Weren't you just telling him to go home you idiot?" "Shut the fuck up bastard!" "Naruto, watch your language! That's a detention afterschool!" Iruka interrupted.

Nezumiiro's headache evolved into a migraine and she left the arguing duo to get a drink. She quenched her thirst a conveniently placed water fountain and wiped her runny nose on her sleeve and coughed again. She waddled back to the spot where she was eating lunch until Naruto and Sasuke started to argue. She stopped just out of view, listening in on their argument.

"He's the worst student in the class. He can't even last through ten minutes of Leaf Sticking."

"Yeah but-!"

"He's even worse than you."

"I-!"

"He's never going to amount in anything as a ninja and even an idiot like you knows it."

"…"

Nezumiiro's breathing hitched, why wasn't Naruto defending her? Weren't they friends? _'Say something!'_ She willed him, watching everything unfold behind a tree.

"…I…think…" Nezumiiro's heart beat faster and her palms began to sweat. _'Please, Naruto…'_

"I think…you're…right…"

'_What?'_

"He won't amount to anything…"

'_Naruto…no…I thought…'_

"He's basically useless…"

'_Why? I…I trusted you!'_

"And his scars are frightening …"

'_I thought…I thought we were friends!'_

Blind rage coursed through Nezumiiro as she burst from her hiding spot, catching them both off guard! "YOU!" She shrieked, jabbing a finger at Naruto, "YOU TRAITOROUS FUCKING BASTARD!" "N-Nezumiiro I-!" "SHUT UP! I TRUSTED YOU!" She cut him off, grabbing her bag. She began having a heavy coughing fit from yelling so loudly. Naruto ran over to steady her but she pushed him away roughly, causing him to fall. "Don't touch me." She hissed darkly, standing up on her own. "N-Nezumiiro?" Naruto squeaked, wide-eyed. "I hate you." She growled. Naruto's eyes bugged out. "W-what?" "I. Hate. You." Nezumiiro spat, giving Naruto a withering glare.

Nezumiiro turned on her heel and ran as fast as she could, not even giving Naruto a chance to recover. She ran and ran until her legs screamed for mercy and fell. Curling up into a ball, Nezumiiro let out the most heart-wrenching sobs, convey her exact emotions. She was wounded, shocked, and enraged at Naruto's betrayal. It was like a thorn had been lodged into her heart in the most painful manner possible.

It hurt too much.

"I-I n-never w-w-want f-friends a-again!" She wailed, grasping her hair and pulling as hard as she could, "I-I just want t-to be a-alone!" She broke down into another coughing fit and inhaled deeply, trying to recover lost air. She pulled her uncooperative body to a bench and fell limp. She felt hollow and broken. And it seemed her past lives had abandoned her in a time where she needed comfort most. "I don't need anyone…" She murmured, "I just get stronger by myself and become the best fucking ninja ever, better than Naruto, better than Sasuke, bETTER THAN ANYONE!" She screamed out the last part, scaring some birds near her.

After stewing in her newly erected isolation, she dragged her feet home, feeling the weight of the world upon her shoulders and an inevitable lonely future.


	10. Chapter 9

**Quick Update! We need to get the ball rolling here! ~ KC527**

* * *

Nezumiiro didn't show up for weeks after that. Naruto hadn't felt worse than he had during this time, not even when the villagers got particularly violent towards him. That was just physical pain, it went away with time. This was something on another level entirely, it started as a tiny speck, and you dismiss it until it snowballs into a huge, gnarly monster that eats away at the inner corners of your soul. He had lost the only person so far to truly accept him as a person and that alone was killing him.

Over the course of those weeks, Nezumiiro's person had morphed into an intricate puzzle box and every move brings pitfalls, dead ends, and blockades. She had become someone untouchable. She had also become stronger, utilizing all the knowledge in the library that she could get her hands on and her brief experiences from the academy to raise her from a low brow failure to above average student. Far from prodigy or anything of the like, but she thought she was far from the pathetic pile of crap she was before.

She was determined not to fail.

She couldn't afford it.

She made the same mistake six times already…

* * *

"Nezumiiro…are you sure you want to go back? You could just pursue a normal career."

"Ka-san...why do the young birds leave their comfortable nests for the precarious skies?"

"I...don't quite follow you Nezumiiro…"

"It is because they wish to fly, Ka-san. I want to fly."

* * *

Iruka Umino had stayed up all night marking yesterday's assignment. He was very tired and not in the mood for any tomfoolery, which was all but inevitable when teaching a class with both Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka in the same class, which irritated him further. "Ugh, why do I have such a flaky co-worker?" He groaned. He opened the door to the classroom and dragged his feet to his desk at front.

Looking up he nearly yelled, there was a student in there with him! _'Who the hell would show up so early?'_ He thought, looking at the person. They were hunched over in their seat so all he could see was a shaggy head of black hair. They wore a deep brown sleeveless hoodie, with a pale green t-shirt, and bandages starting from their wrist to all the way up their arms. Iruka was sure he had never seen them in this class before.

"Um, excuse me; I think you're in the wrong classroom." He called. They didn't budge. "Um, excuse me?" He got up from his desk and headed over their spot in the farthest left-hand corner. When he got there he saw they were preoccupied with a piece of paper they were drawing on. "Hey, I think you're in the wrong class, who are you anyway?" He asked.

They lifted their head up and looked him straight in the eyes. Ghostly grey met black brown, the all too familiar Y shaped scar and discoloured neck. "Greetings, sensei." "N-Nezumiiro?" "Correct, I am indeed not a mere apparition created by your subconscious." Nezumiiro articulated, continuing her drawing. "W-what?" Iruka stuttered, unable to follow. "Yes, Iruka-sensei, it's me." She clarified.

Iruka had no idea how to react; Nezumiiro was acting so…_jaded_. "Well, uh…welcome back." Iruka smiled, albeit awkwardly. "You have my gratification." Nezumiiro replied, not looking up from her drawing. Iruka stood there stiffly for a few more moments before sitting back down at his desk. He didn't know if he should be happy or intimidated.

Students started pouring in shortly after, most of them looking at Nezumiiro questioningly. After school officially began, Iruka got up and calmed the class down. "Um, alright class…today we're going to review the Substitution Technique." He announced. Everyone lined up and began performing it with ease; Iruka was just worried about Nezumiiro. When it came to Nezumiiro's turn, she silently looked for an object to substitute herself with. She settled for Iruka's chair and began channeling her chakra.

She felt herself pulled forward and the world morphed into a blur, colours smooshed together and she nearly fell over when her feet had made contact with the floor again. _'I believe I need to practice that particular technique a bit more…_' She thought. She heard Iruka give a sigh of relief and ask for the next person to go.

By now the class had fully realized who she was and would occasionally whisper to each other and throw her wary looks. "Alright class, now that review has been dealt with it is time for us to begin teaching you the Transformation Technique." Iruka informed, gaining everyone's attention. Nezumiiro paid rapt attention to Iruka's explanation and demonstration; this was the technique that she had trouble with and without a teacher…well, she couldn't improve much on her own.

"Finally, you must picture your intended object or person clearly and say TRANSFORM!" When he said the last word a cloud of smoke appeared and in its place a perfect copy of a chair. Nezumiiro was fascinated; she left her seat and began scrutinizing Iruka-sensei's chair form. "Incredible…" She whispered, ghost of a smile appearing on her face. Smoke appeared again and Iruka stood proud and tall where the "chair" used to be.

"Alright class, pair up and assess each other's transformations until you come up with an acceptable copy of your intended object or person." He ordered. Predictably, all the girls tried to pair up with Sasuke, but just ended up making total fools of themselves. Nezumiiro just observed the other students until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Turning around her eyes met with a blue-haired boy with a giant smile on his face. "Hi there, I'm Mizuki Aito, let's be partners!" He chirped, eyes sparkling. Nezumiiro flinched; his grin reminded her of a certain fox-face. She felt that same thorn in her heart twist. Before she could protest, Aito dragged her off to practice. "Alright!" He shouted, performing the hand sign, "Here I go! TRANSFORM!" He then transformed into a copy of Nezumiiro.

"So, how do I look?" He asked, smiling widely. Nezumiiro gave him a quick once-over, immediately picking up on any flaws. "The hair colour is off, that's a shade lighter than mine," She pointed out, "and I have smaller pupils than that." Aito's grin dropped a little, but he nodded enthusiastically. "Thanks!" He said, releasing the jutsu and turning back to normal, "It's your turn!"

Nezumiiro nodded and performed the seal, careful not to say "Transform." too loudly. With a puff of smoke she revealed her transformation. Aito stared at it before bursting out laughing. Nezumiiro had tried to transform into Aito but had fouled up; his hair was much too dark, the legs stuck out at an inhuman angle, and his face featured massive lips and bug eyes. She quickly released the jutsu before anyone else could see her mistakes, face burning with embarrassment.

"What did I do wrong; tell me so I can fix it!" She snapped, wanting to get it out of the way. "Ah…haha…" Aito coughed, trying to regain control of his laughter. "Well first off, my hair colour was way too dark," He began, "the legs were fucked up, and my face was really creepy." Nezumiiro frowned, all she got out the explanation is that the hair colour needed to be lighter, not much else. "Try to imagine me more clearly; it will help you a lot." He informed, giving her a sunny smile.

Nezumiiro sighed and looked at him more closely; noting his hair was more of a periwinkle, not blue, and that his eyes were strangely light green. "Alright now close your eyes, picture me, and go!" He cheered. Nezumiiro did as instructed and a much better copy appeared, there were still some obvious mistakes, but it was a huge improvement from her previous attempt.

"Great that was way better than before!" Aito praised, clapping his hands. "Hey Nezu-kun, let's be friends!" He laughed giving her a bear hug. She was too in shock to notice that he held on for longer than he should have. "No need to thank me! Helping you improve was good enough for me!" He beamed, skipping off quickly. Nezumiiro just stood and tried to piece together what had happened.

After a while of processing, she glared in Aito's direction and muttered, "I do not need friends…"

* * *

Naruto laughed at his newest achievement, he had set up a classic prank to announce his arrival in class, Iruka-sensei would open the door and BAM! Bucket of water! It was so simple and yet so perfect! He heard someone heading for the door and hid. "Heh, heh, this is gonna be great!" He snickered, watching from his opportune hiding spot. The door open and the bucket fell with an over exaggerated _SPLOOSH_.

Naruto jumped up and pointed a taunting finger at his victim. "HA! I GOT YOU IRuka-sensei…" His victorious shout died when he realized who had walked into it. It was Iruka, not even Sasuke (that would've been better though). It was none other than the person he had invested in so much energy in trying to find, so they could forgive him._ 'Oh no…'_ Naruto blanched and immediately began stuttering apologies.

"N-Nezumiiro, I'm sorry!" Nezumiiro pushed away her bangs to glare at the one person she hoped she wouldn't see. Naruto began running around trying to find something to dry off the water. He ran off to the bathroom and brought back a roll of paper towels. "I'm sorry, h-here you could dry off with these." He stammered, thrusting them towards Nezumiiro.

Nezumiiro didn't even look at the towels as she brushed past him and got her own. The towels fell from Naruto's hands and he wilted. Nezumiiro was ignoring him. Ouch. With a sigh, he picked up the now empty bucket and walked into the class. Everyone gaped at the scene that just played out before them. Naruto never apologized for anything! Let alone for pranking someone!

Iruka just stared sadly at Naruto, he saw the events that took place weeks ago, and he knew Naruto was hurting. He never knew that Nezumiiro had the capability to be so…cruel. "Alright, now I'm giving you an assignment; you must be able to transform into a perfect copy of the third hokage by Thursday, you will be tested and it will affect your marks. Class dismissed." Everyone in class exited, except Naruto who had missed the class.

"And just because you missed this class doesn't mean I'll give you extra time Naruto!" Iruka scolded, crossing his arms. "Aw, come on sensei! I don't even know what hand sign I need to use!" Naruto whined. Iruka tutted and flopped onto his chair. "Well maybe you should get a tutor, Naruto." He suggested dryly. Naruto groaned and banged his head on the desk. Who on Earth would willingly help him?

"Iruka-sensei, did I miss anything of importance?" Both occupants whipped their heads to find a semi-dry Nezumiiro. Iruka had an idea, it was a huge risk, but it might work. He looked at Naruto and said with a smile, "Naruto, meet your new tutor."


	11. Chapter 10

**Update! Can you see my struggle for creativity in it? Hah, I hope it is at least satisfactory...**

* * *

Nezumiiro was not happy, she was stuck tutoring the person she wanted to avoid the most. "So, um, when do we start?" Naruto asked. Nezumiiro hissed and roughly put him into position. "Now channel your chakra and transform into something!" She growled. "What should I transform into?" He asked. "I don't care, transform into whatever!" She snapped, dropping her head onto the desk.

Naruto looked around the room frantically and finally found an object to transform into. He tried his best to follow Nezumiiro's angry instructions and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Nezumiiro looked down critically at Naruto's choice. He had transformed into…something. It looked like an extremely deformed desk. "What is _that_ supposed to be?" She scoffed. Naruto released his form and answered sheepishly, "A desk…"

"Alright, first off Naruto, the legs of the desk are too wilted, it looks like someone put it on a melting pot," Nezumiiro began, "Secondly, the wood is warped and looks hazy, that transformation wouldn't fool a blind man in the middle of pitch black cave." Naruto stared at his feet as Nezumiiro continued to berate him. To think a couple weeks ago they had exchanged hugs… "Try again, this time look closer at the desk and visualize it in your mind." Nezumiiro commanded. Naruto did as instructed and came out with the exact same result. Nezumiiro facepalmed and groaned. They would be there a while.

"…Well, at least you got the legs right…" Nezumiiro sighed, getting up to leave. "H-hey Nezumiiro, want go and eat at Ichiraku's?" Naruto asked, jogging to meet her stride. "No, I need to go and practice my transformation and substitution techniques." Nezumiiro stated. "Um…how about I help you out?" Naruto proposed. "Naruto you can barely manage to get straight legs when transforming into a desk, how do you plan on helping me?" Nezumiiro retorted, stopping to look him in the eye. "Uh, I could tell you what you're doing wrong so you could improve, you know when transforming." Naruto offered. "So can a mirror…" Nezumiiro countered, "Goodbye Naruto." Nezumiiro walked away from the insistent boy, leaving him in the dust.

"Dang it." Naruto grumbled, heading off to his house.

* * *

"TRANSFORM!" Smoke filled the room and Nezumiiro looked herself over in the mirror and growled. She spent the last half hour trying to make a perfect Third Hokage transformation, failing for one reason or another. "Damn it, damn you!" She shrieked, taking her frustrations out on her pillows. After she indubitably destroyed them, Ka-san entered the room. "Nezumiiro are you okay?" She asked, sitting on the bed with her enraged daughter. "Hell no! I need to be able to transform into a perfect copy of the Third Hokage by Thursday, that's in just two days!" Nezumiiro fumed. "That's plenty of time, Nezumiiro…" Ka-san crooned, trying to sooth her daughter.

"No it isn't, I have a harder time doing these things because of my dumb kekkei genkai!" Nezumiiro hissed. "Nezumiiro! Don't talk about your father's gift to you like that!" Ka-san scolded. "You said yourself it had him bed-ridden every other week! If anything it's more of a curse!" Nezumiiro pointed out, rolling over so her face was buried in her blankets. Ka-san just shook her head and left her daughter to simmer down. _'Why must she be so difficult?'_ She thought.

Nezumiiro resumed her training, transforming again and again. "Ugh!" She finally had enough, putting her fist into the mirror, shattering it into a hundred pieces. Nezumiiro clutched her bleeding hand and held it close as her mother came running in. "Nezumiiro, what did you do? Are you crazy?" Ka-san screamed, grabbing her daughter's injured hand. Nezumiiro stared blankly at her hand and whispered a small. "…Yes…" before cracking a broken finger back into place and leaving to bandage it.

* * *

The next day at the academy, Aito helped Nezumiiro improve more on her skills as she did the same for him. "Great, you got almost everything down! You just need to fix the nose and darken the colour of the red a bit more!" Aito chirped. Nezumiiro nodded and released the jutsu, she was incredibly tired but once again placed her hands into position; much to the pain of her broken finger.

When Nezumiiro produced the same result, Aito began to get confused, usually his advice helped improve her performance (something he prided upon himself _greatly_). "Um, Nezumiiro…is there something wrong? You aren't doing as well as usual." Aito asked, worry evident on his face. "I broke my finger yesterday, but it is an insignificant wound." Nezumiiro confessed, presenting her hand, along with her splinted finger.

Aito gasped and grabbed Nezumiiro's hand with such force it caused her to hiss in pain. "How did this happen…?" Aito breathed, looking over the wound with wide eyes. Nezumiiro rolled her eyes at Aito's ridiculous overreaction. "It isn't a big deal, it wouldn't matter in most situations-!" "Yes it does matter! It inhibits your ability to perform hand seals, not to mention your finger will break easier unless healed by chakra!" Aito interrupted, hovering his palm over her hand.

Suddenly a soft green glow surrounded his hand and Nezumiiro panicked. She tried to pull her hand away but with quickly scolded by Aito. "Hold still! I'm trying to heal you!" He barked, letting his chakra flow into Nezumiiro's hand and begin to repair the damage. Nezumiiro watched with blatant awe as she felt her finger, bruises, and scabs heal in a matter of minutes. Aito was completely immersed in what he was doing and only finished when he made sure everything was working perfectly.

"I'm from a long line of medic nin, it would be a disgrace to not know the basics!" Aito bragged, puffing out his chest. Nezumiiro was completely transfixed by the miracle that had occurred just a second ago. "Thank you." She whispered, looking at him with misty eyes. "A-ah, it's nothing, Nezu-kun…" He stammered, flushing beet red, "We should continue practicing." Nezumiiro nodded and resumed the proper stance. "Transform!" She shouted, disappearing in a cloud of smoke. When she emerged, Aito felt pride fill him. "How is it?" Nezumiiro asked, tilting her head to the side. "Perfect! Well, near perfect, you just need to fix the colouring and the kanji on the hat, but you're almost there!"

* * *

Nezumiiro came home feeling particularly exhausted and relieved; she had felt the weight of imminent failure slipping off her shoulders. "That Aito kid is sure a lot of help…" She mused, "But I'm sure that kindness won't last, after all…" She felt her heart twist painfully at the thought of that day at the academy. "Nice people can be backstabbers too…" She flopped onto the couch. She felt as if she forgot something important before it hit her like a train. "I'm supposed to be tutoring that bastard!"

* * *

Naruto sighed, looking around the empty classroom. Apparently, Nezumiiro had ditched him in his time of need. _'Just like everyone else…'_ He thought, wiping away bitter tears. He was going to leave for home when the door crashed open. Nezmiiro leant in the door frame, panting from running so fast. She dragged her feet to Naruto and she looked down at him lazily. "Give me two minutes and we'll start whipping you into shape." She deadpanned.

Naruto stared at her with pure admiration, Nezumiiro had faith in him! "Okay you'll need to be able to transform into a perfect copy of the Hokage by tomorrow, this is no time to shit around! Get practicing!" Nezumiiro barked, assuming the drill sergeant routine. It worked wonderfully. "Y-yes sir!" Naruto stammered, snapping into position. Nezumiiro smirked, this was no holds bar time, her pride as a student was riding on this. No holding back.

"Once more Naruto, fix those goober lips!" "*huff* C-can I take a break?" "No, not until its perfect, remember picture the old man really clearly and transform!" Nezumiiro had spent the last four hours coaching, yelling, screaming, and pushing Naruto for the winning result. Both of them were tired and exhausted, one physically and the other emotionally. "Ugh, fine! Here goes, TRANSFORM!" Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke and Nezumiiro narrowed her eyes. She scanned him over with a keen, calculating gaze. "…Naruto…" She whispered.

Naruto wilted, he did something wrong again… "You did it…" Naruto snapped up, "W-what?" "You did it…" Nezumiiro repeated, giving him a small smile. Naruto stood there dumbly before his face split into the biggest grin in his life. "YES! I DID IT! I DID IT! I'M GONNA BE HOKAGE!" Naruto cheered, jumping up and down. Nezumiiro gave a sigh of relief, now Iruka wouldn't see her as an idiot. "Alright, now that I have succeeded in teaching you, I'll return to my home and get some well-deserved rest." Nezumiiro informed, taking her leave.

Arms wrapped around her from behind and she froze completely. "Thanks, for believing in me." Naruto sighed, giving Nezumiiro a massive bear hug. Nezumiiro felt the colour drain from her face at the violation of personal space that was occurring she felt her body temperature rise and sweat beginning to form. Mind working in overdrive, she began circling through ways of getting out the stranglehold hug. Scrapping a few ideas, she settled for pushing her way out of it. Doing so, she turned and bowed to Naruto, leaving without another word.


	12. HIATUS

Hey the guys, I'm really sorry to inform you, but I'm taking a huge break from writing fan fiction. Seeing as I am 15, I need to begin preparation into securing future education and job options. Between that and getting my grades up to standards (i.e. 80 or above) I find I have no time to continue this, for now. I may or may not work on this in the future, so feel free to abandon it if you wish. Sincerely, KaedeChild527


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